Skein winding machine



July 16, 1935,

W. F. TWADDLE SKEIN WINDING MACHINE Filed Nov. 24, 1951 2 Sheets-Sheet 1frame-71702. W QM 5/.

y 1935' V w. F. TWADDLE 2,008,477

SKEIN WINDING MACHINE Filed Npv. 24, 1951 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Patented July16, 1935 PATENT OFFICE SKEIN WINDING MACHINE William F. Twaddle,Manchester, N. l1, assignor to Amoskeag Manufacturing Company, trustees,

Manchester, N. H.

Application November 24, 1931, Serial No. 577,007

2 Claims.

This invention relates to an improved machine for winding yarns, andparticularly rayon yarns, in skeins.

A common type of skein winding machine unwinds the yarns from amultiplicity of spools or packages and winds them on a reel in acorresponding number of skeins. When the winding is completed, thereelwith its skeins is removed from the machine and transferred to astand where the skeins are tied, leased, and removed from the reel. Thereel is subsequently returned to the winding machine for the winding ofother skeins thereon. The removal of the reel on the machine and itstransference to a stand requires considerable physical exertion andprovides an opportunity for the reel to become bruised and damaged sothat the yarn is liable to catch on roughened or splintered surfaces ofthe reel and thus become frayed and broken, especially when the yarn isdelicate, as with fine rayon yarn. Futhermore, when a reel is out of thewinding machine, the machine is idle.

It is an object of the present invention to provide an improved skeinwinding machine wherein the reel is a permanent part of the machine andthe skeins can be removed from the reel without removing the reel fromthe machine.

It is a further object of the invention to provide a skein windingmachine having a plurality of reels upon which the skeins are wound,leased and tied, and from which the skeins can be removed withoutremoving the reels from the machine, the arrangement being such that thereels are positioned successively into winding position and the skeinscan be wound, leased, tied and then removed from one reel while the reelremains in the machine and while yarn is being wound into skeins onanother reel.

Another object of the invention is the provision of a skein windingmachine wherein the winding reel is supported at one end and the otherend is open and free from obstructions so that the skeins can bewithdrawn from the open unobstructed end of the reel, the reel beingcollapsible to facilitate the removal of the skeins.

A further object of the invention is the provision of a skein windingmachine having a rotatable support which carries a plurality of reels,the reels being secured at one end only to the support and the other endof the reels being free and unobstructed so that the skeins can bewithdrawn therefrom.

Another object of the invention is the provision of a skein windingmachine having a plurality of winding reels which can be movedsuccessively into and out of winding position and automatically into andout of positive driving engagement with reel-rotating mechanism which,when a reel is in winding position, rotates it positively in timedrelation with the yarn-traversing mechanism.

A further object of the invention is generally to improve theconstruction and operation of skein winding machines. I

Fig. 1 is a plan view of the skein winding machine embodying the presentinvention.

Fig. 2 is a sectional view taken along line 2-2 of Fig. 1.

Fig. 3 is an enlarged sectional detail through the winding reels takenalong lines 3-3 of Fig. 1.

Fig. 4 is an enlarged detail of the locking mechanism for a collapsiblebar of a reel.

Fig. 5 is a detail of the locking means for the rotatable reel support.

As here shown, the skein winding machine embodying the present inventioncomprises a supporting frame I0 having a pair of end plates or standards12 in which the supporting shaft ll of a rotatable reel support isjournalled. Said shaft at one end thereof is provided with a pair ofreel supporting members or frames l6 and I8 which are spaced apart onsaid shaft and have corresponding arms 20 and 22 which extend inopposite directions from said shaft.

A reel supporting shaft 24 is carried by and is journalled in the endsof the corresponding arms 22 and a similar and parallel reel supportingshaft 26 is carried by and is journalled in the ends of thecorresponding arms 20. Said shafts project beyond the frame member It inthe same direction free from support and carry skein winding reels 28and 30 on the unsupported portions thereof. The reels are or can beidentical and are collapsible so that the skeins on the reels can bewithdrawn over the open and unobstructed left hand ends thereof.

Each reel comprises three yarn supporting bars 32 and a fourth similarbar 34, which bars are parallel with their supporting shaft and aredisposed in equi-angularly spaced relation thereabout. The bars 32 aresupported near the ends thereof in radially-outstanding arms 36 of hubs38 which are fixed to the reel supporting shaft. The bar 34 is pivotallyconnected through yokes 40 fixed to the bar at its opposite ends, withthe outer ends of parallel sets of spaced links 42 and 44. The innerends of said llnks'are pivotally connected to hubs 38 of the supportingshaft. With this arrangement the bar 34 can be moved in parallel linesinwardly toward the reel supporting shaft from the position shown at theleft hand end of Fig. 3 to the position shown in the right hand end ofFig. 3 for the purpose of reducing the peripheral extent of the reel andthereby allowing the skeins of yarn to become slack or loose on the reelso that they can be withdrawn from the unobstructed end of the reel. Thebar 42 is locked in expanded position by a locking arm 46 which ispivoted to a hub 418 fixed to the reel supporting shaft and is extendedbetween the pairs of links 42 where it is provided with a notch 58 thatreleasably engages a pro- .jection 52 of a bar yoke 48 and holds saidbar against collapse. The locking arm 46 is: urged in a lockingdirection by a spring 54 which bears outwardly against an ear 56 of saidarm. Said arm is provided with a handle 58 at its free end which isaccessible at the unobstructed end of the reel to permit the unlockingof the collapsible bar.

The rotatable support for the winding reels is adapted to be lockedreleasably in positions which correspond to the winding positions of thesuccessive reels. For this purpose, the ends of the arms 28 and 22 ofthe rotatable supporting frame are provided with notches 68 each ofwhich is adapted to be entered by the end of a locking bolt 62 carriedby a bracket 64 of the stationary frame of the machine and urged towardthe real supporting frame by a spring 66. The locking bolt can beremoved from holding engagement with the supporting frame by a lever 68,see Fig. 2, which is pivoted to the frame and is connected to thelocking bolt by means of a pin 18. When the lever 68 is moved in acounterclockwise direction the locking bolt is withdrawn from one or theother of the notches 68 and the reel support then is free to be rotatedto position another reel in winding position.

The reels are rotated when they are in. winding position by a shaft 12,see Fig. 1, that is carried by one of the standards l2 and has a clutchconnection with a driving pulley 14 that is loose on said shaft, theclutch connection including a clutch element 16 that is fixed to rotatewith the shaft 12 and is axially movable thereon. When the clutchelement is engaged with the rotating pulley 14, the shaft 12 is rotated.The shaft 12 has a driving gear 18 thereon and the reel support shafts24 and 26 have similar gears 88 and 82 thereon, each of which is adaptedautomatically to be moved in turn into positive driving engagement withthe gear 18 when its associated reel is brought into winding position.

The yarns are contained in spools or packages 84 which are supported byashelf 86 at the bottom of the machine-frame and the yarns from bar 96and thence upwardly to-whichever one,

of the winding reels is in winding position. The bar 96 is reciprocatedin more or less the usual manner in timed relation with the shaft 12 toguide the yarns onto the reel with proper trav- BISQ- The usual treadle98 is provided by which an operative watching the winding operation canactuate the clutch and start and stop the machine.

The manner of using the machine is substantially as follows:

When a sufficient amount of yarn has been wound in skeins on the reel28, the winding operation is stopped, the locking bolt is removed fromengagement with the reel support and the reel support is rotated 180 byhand to exchange the positions of the reels and to bring the empty reel38 into winding position. This operation automatically disengages'onereel from its positive driving connection with the operating shaft 12and places the other reel in positive driving engagement therewith. Thelocking bolt is again engaged with the reel support to hold it in properposition and the yarns are severed from the reel 28 and are suitablyconnected to the reel 38. The machine is then set in operation to windyarns in skeins on the reel 38. The operator leases and ties the skeinson the full reel and then collapses the reel by releasing the lock onthe bar 34 and then removes the skeins from the unobstructed or lefthand end of the reel, subsequently returning the bar 34 to its outwardposition and looking it in such position. The operation is repeatedindefinitely. The shaft I4 is provided with guard plates I88 which areinterposed between the two reels so as to protect the operator who isworking on the skeins of the filled reel from coming in contact with therotating reel, and to protect the ends on the'reel being leased fromsnarling due to the wind set up by the other rotating winding reel. Saidplates also serve to stiffen the shaft I4.

The machine thus described is capable of operating faster, withoutdamage to the yarn, than the prior type of removable-reel machine. Sincethe reels are a permanent part of the machine, the parts can be heavierthan heretofore and thus the reels can be rotated more rapidly thanheretofore without setting up vibration that interferes with the properwinding of the yarn.

The reels are positively-driven when they are in winding position sothat they are constrained to rotate in timed relation with the operationof the yarn-traverse mechanism, regardless of the speed of the reels.Consequently the yarn is laid on the reel in a definite accurate mannerthat facilitates the leasing of the skein and its subsequent unwindingwhereas, with the removable reel, being friction-driven, the yarn couldnot be laid accurately, especially when the reel was rapidly rotated,due to slipping between the friction elements and the consequenthaphazard and continually changing relation between the operations ofthe reel and the yarn-traversing mechanism.

I claim:

1. A machine for winding yarns into skeins comprising a rotatablesupporting shaft, a frame carried by said shaft having pairs ofoppositely extended arms, reel supporting shafts journalled at their oneends in corresponding arms of said frame and being free at their otherends, reels on which the yarns are wound into skeins carried by the freeends of said shafts, said frame being rotatable to exchange the positionof said reels, means for releasably holding said frame in any one of itsseveral positions, means including yarn-traversing mechanism for layinga plurality of yarns in separate positions disposed length wise of thereel that is in winding position for forming a plurality of skeinsthereon, means for rotating said reels at a positive constant speed whenthey are in winding position including a constant-speed operating shafthaving a driving gear, said reel supporting shafts having gears whichare movable automatically into and out of positive driving engagementwith said operating shaft by the rotation of said supporting frame, andmeans for collapsing the reels and permitting the removal of the skeinsthereon over the unobstructed ends thereof.

2. A skein winding machine comprising a base having spaced upstandingend plates, a reel supporting frame including a horizontal pivot shaftextended between and journalled in said end plates, said shaft having apair of horizontally spaced arms fixed thereon between said plates andnear one of them, said arms being parallel and extended both on bothsides of the shaft,

reel shafts parallel with and on opposite sides of said pivot shaft andjournalled in and overhanging said arms, collapsible reels on saidshafts, said pivot shaft with said reels being capable of turning toexchange the position of said reels and said frame having provision forpermitting such turning movement, releasable locking means engaging saidreel supporting frame for locking the pivot shaft against turning withthe reels in a horizontal plane, reel rotating means positioned toengage and rotate one only of said reels when they are successivelypositioned in the locked position of said pivot shaft 50 that one isrotated and the other is idle, means for guiding yarns onto the reels towind in skeins spaced lengthwise of the rotated reel, the end of theidle reel remote from said arms being clear of the adjacent end plate ofsaid frame so that the end of the idle reel is free and unobstructed andleased skeins on the idle reel can be removed endwise of the collapsedreel.

WILLIAM F. TWADDLE.

